Man In The Mirror
by Foreign Nebula
Summary: For his crimes against the Realms, Loki is imprisoned in a pendant and sent to Midgard to serve out his punishment. His only way to redeem himself is by winning the forgiveness from one of his many victims. But when Kristina- the mortal woman entrusted with his prison- wants nothing to do with him, how is the God of Mischief supposed to get free?


**Man in the Mirror**

**PROLOGUE**

The tribal beat of the music scored through her veins, making her pulse thunder through her body like the pounding of a drum. The wind she generated with her furious movements, caused her dark brown hair to whip around her head, her body twirling and legs kicking at the air. Sweat beaded on her forehead and turned cool, her skin feeling itchy and uncomfortable, but still she continued on, her emotions fuelling her every move.

Anger, hurt and betrayal coursed through her body like poison, causing her limbs to spasm to the tempo of the music, her body thrashing around the polished wood flooring of the semi-darkened dance studio.

"_Kristina."_

She faltered, her arms jerking in surprise above her head and throwing her precarious balance off. Almost as quickly, she guided her arms to glide out to her side, her eyes squeezing shut against the harsh reality that she had suddenly found herself thrust into. She ignored him, her heart deadening further at his distorted voice just as the dark stone pendant around her throat seem to flare with an unnatural green light.

"_You need to accept this._" His voice cut through the pounding music, but once again she ignored him, focusing on twirling away from the wall of dark, shadowy mirrors, her cold anger slowly building to a warm fury.

"_Now you are just being childish._"

The words caused her to freeze suddenly, her body coming to a jarring halt by the tall windows, her closed eyes opening to look out on to the twinkling lights of the city beyond them. Usually they helped ease any kind of burden she might have been feeling, but it seemed that wouldn't be the case on this night.

Trying to get control over her harsh breathing, she half turned and made her way stiffly over to the large, black stereo where music continued to pound through the speakers. As she walked, she kept her back to the mirrors, trying to ignore the shadow that followed her every move. As she got to the stereo, she leaned down and pressed the power button, effectively silencing the pulsing music and plunging the room into deathly silence.

From the corner of her eyes, she saw a shadow shift in the mirror, the hairs on the back of her neck rising at the sudden tension in the room. She closed her eyes, willing herself to ignore it, trying to talk herself into believing the lie that she had told herself when all of this had started. She could deny the anger that was building up in her veins, deny the fact that if she only just turned around, she would be face-to-face with her families murderer... She shook her head, biting her lip in vain to try and tame the wild fury that boiled just beneath the surface.

"_Kristina,"_ he said again, an exasperated tone to his voice, "_now is not the time –"_

Red bloomed in her vision and she whirled around, an angry ringing building in her ears as she stared at the man that had stolen her reflection. "_NO!"_ she screamed, her fists clenching at her side as she stormed over to the mirrors and glared at the man beyond the glass.

The man shifted, crossing his arms over his chest arrogantly, a sneer painting his face. "_No? Did you just tell me no?"_

If she had been a bull, she would have charged the mirror, regardless of her safety. Instead, her brown eyes glared sharp daggers at him. "I said **no!** _No_, I will not do as you say! _No_, I will not help you gain your freedom! And _**no**_, I will _never_ forgive you for what you have done to me!" she yelled, her voice breaking as she fought to remain calm. Tears ran down her cheeks unchecked, which were flushed with her fury.

He moved suddenly, his green eyes twin chips of ice as his hands slammed into the mirror pane. The edges of the reflective surface darkened and small slivers of cracks spider-webbed from the corners, slowly travelling across the surface of the glass and frosting over. "_I offer you riches beyond your wildest comprehension, and ultimate fame in return for your unwavering fealty, and yet you reject me?"_ his voice was deadly, dripping with the venom of his words.

"**YES!**" she screamed, the sound raw and full of anguish. "Yes I am reject your offer, because _nothing_ you will ever offer me will bring back those that you have taken from me!" she threw her hands up in the air, her chest rising and falling with the effort it took to tell him that.

Slightly taken aback, he watched her, his gaze still dark and icy. "_Is that so? Care to tell me why?"_

Jerking at his inquiry, she turned wide, vulnerable brown eyes to him, tears continuing to glisten off her cheeks. "You want to know why I won't help you?" she whispered, watching in silence at his imperceptible nod. She blinked and then gave a barking laugh, a sound that was half-sob, half-snort. "Maybe the great Loki doesn't know everything then." She mumbled to herself, earning a sneer from the man.

Silence descended between the two of them again, Kristina staring out passed the windows and into the twinkling lights of the city beyond. "It's because you took away everything that I loved." She said brokenly, her eyes closing shut.

Loki pushed himself off of his side of the mirror, shifting to watch her more carefully.

"You took my family, you took my career, you took away the chance for a happy life for two children and for that, I will _never_ forgive you Loki." She turned around again, the tears dry on her cheeks, but her eyes twin, burning embers of controlled fury. "Karma was definitely a bitch when she decided that I would wear your stupid necklace, because nothing on the face of this planet will _ever_ get me to free you." She said triumphantly, stalking over to her bag and picking it up, all the while never looking away from Loki. She crowed victoriously in hear head when Loki roared, the mirrors cracks spreading faster across the surface. "I'll be your damn prison warden, and I'll make sure that you never get free, even if it's the last thing that I do."

"_**Is that so? Well then, if you refuse to help me, I'll just have to make your life a living Hell.**_" Loki continued to roar, the mirrors suddenly darkening.

Kristina ignored his temper tantrum and moved quickly to the doors. Just as she was about to open them, she turned around and spotted twin emeralds burning angrily in the swirling darkness of the mirrors behind her. "I'd like to see you try, Loki. But just so you know, I'm pretty much living in Hell every single day." And with that last comment, she strode through the doors, letting them slam shut behind her.

Not a second after she had left, an evanescent roar tore through the dance studio and all the mirrors exploded.

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Review?


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